CATAN Cities and Knights Expansion 5th Edition - $59.99 MSRP

CATAN Cities and Knights Expansion 5th Edition turns the familiar island into a longer strategic contest of city development, defense, and shared danger. Players build knights, improve cities, and respond to barbarian threats while competing for victory points.

What Comes in the Box

The expansion includes 36 commodity cards, 54 progress cards, 24 wooden knights, 12 city walls, and 4 development flip-charts. It also includes 3 wooden metropolis pieces, 3 metropolis tokens, 6 victory point cards, a merchant figure, an event die, a barbarian ship, a barbarian-fleet tile, and a rulebook.

The box is an expansion rather than a standalone game. It requires the CATAN base game and supports 3-4 players ages 12 and older.

Longer Strategic Decisions

Each turn adds more information to manage than the base game alone. Commodity cards support city improvements, progress cards introduce new development paths, and knights provide the military system needed to defend the island.

The official description centers on three city-improvement areas: trade, politics, and science. Metropolises offer an additional development goal, while the barbarian fleet creates a shared pressure that can affect every player.

US Edition And Positioning

For the English-language US edition, Asmodee North America, Inc. operates the CATAN Studio website from Roseville, Minnesota, and CATAN Studio is identified as the publisher. The CATAN brand itself is developed and licensed by Catan GmbH, while KOSMOS publishes the German-language edition.

US listings place the 5th Edition at $59.99 MSRP as of 09/22/2026. That price positions the expansion alongside other major CATAN expansions, but the required base game adds a separate cost and setup requirement.

Who It Fits Best

CATAN Cities and Knights Expansion 5th Edition fits groups that already know the base game and want a heavier strategic layer. Its 90-120 minute play time leaves room for more planning than a standard base-game session.

The central tradeoff is complexity. New cards, city improvements, knights, metropolises, and barbarian attacks create more decisions, but they also make the experience less suitable for players seeking a short introductory board game.

Verdict For Strategy Groups

As a 3-4 player expansion for ages 12 and up, CATAN Cities and Knights is best suited to established CATAN groups that want stronger development systems and a collective defense threat. Its required base game and longer sessions are concrete limits, while the added components give experienced players more strategic routes to victory.